Study Abroad: Valencia

January 19, 2009

My first real impressions of Spain began not in the airport in Madrid, but in the plane just before we landed in Valencia. The plane took us first over the Mediterranean Sea, Valencia’s Harbor, the City of Arts and Sciences, and then along the rest of the city until we landed at the airport. I couldn’t believe how beautiful and exciting the city looked, so completely different from anywhere I’ve lived before. Just thinking how close I was to the Mediterranean made me so eager to get out into the city and explore. After we got our luggage we met up with Amy, our Resident Assistant Director, and alumni of Nazareth College. She gave us temporary cell phones and information packets, and then put us in taxis headed to the address we would be staying with. I was to be staying in “Modern Valencia” right across from “La Ciudad de las Artes y Ciencias/ The City of the Arts and Sciences”. On the way there I could not believe how beautiful and different everything was. One major difference I couldn’t help but notice was that everyone lives in an apartment building, almost everyone has a balcony, and the driving here is like it is in NYC. Go when you can, not necessarily when the light says so. I was lucky enough to be placed with a very friendly woman on the 15th floor of our apartment building and am convinced I have the best view in the city.

January 21, 2009

Tuesday for President Obama’s inauguration we were hoping that something was going to happen at the American embassy here that we could go to...but no such luck, so the only option to watch it in English was to go on the internet live and watch it from CNN, however with my lack of internet that really wasn’t an option. Amy sent out a text saying she was going to hook her laptop up to the television at the institute and watch it in English there, but it didn’t make sense for me to go all the way out there for a few minutes. So I watched it here in the apartment in español, that wasn’t bad really, they had it on their four major news channels in real time coverage. It was just hard to hear Obama over the Spanish interpreter speaking Spanish on top of him. At first I tried to listen in English, and that didn’t work, then I tried to just focus on the Spanish, and that didn’t work out but I got the idea. If I didn’t know both languages it might have been easier to just focus on one, but it worked all the same, I still saw it happen, and him fumble on the oath :) I would have been nervous too. Anyway, that was how I saw it.

I still can’t get over how much America and what we do affects Spain and the rest of the world. I am willing to bet many of the people here are more knowledgeable about our political affairs than many of our citizens. They too are suffering a crisis here and have issues with people not finding jobs, and not being able to afford the cost of living. Their enterprises are stagnant as well; if no one has money, nothing can be bought. If nothing can be bought, then no one is working. If no one is working, no money is being made. Basically the whole world is stuck in this cyclical economic disaster.

So, anyways, their hope is that Obama can fix our economy, or at the least, boost it. When America’s economy rises then so will everyone else’s. They all support Obama, no matter what party or class they come from because they feel in this time he is the best person to help not only save America but the world. On the day of the inauguration everything stopped, and everyone was watching, EVERY channel covered it (some better than others) in Valenciano, as well as in Castellano. After the speech all of the news programs for 2 or 3 days straight focused only on Obama, the inauguration, his family, our politics, and the White House. I can only imagine how many days it lasted at home. In short, America matters a lot more than I thought we did in relation to Spain, and I guess Europe in general. When people here ask me where I’m from and I tell them the United States the reply usually is “OBAMA!!!”. Did you realize not just our politics but almost everything? On the news there is gossip about our celebrities? The television has a lot of our movies or television series, just dubbed. I would say even that about 2/3 of the music played on the radio or in the malls is in English as well. It definitely gives me a new perspective on things here and things back home.

January 26, 2009

For me personally I like the food here, it is different to get used to but I really enjoy it. For breakfast in the morning I have tea or juice, and my roommate has “Cafe con Leche” a coffee made differently. First milk is heated and then coffee is directly stirred into it. We tend to have different variations of bread in the morning including “magdelenas” (muffins), and “galletitas” (little cookie/crackers) with jelly of either Frambuesa (raspberry) or Melacoton (peach) on them. Lunch, known as “La Comida” is eaten around 2:30pm here in our home and is the heaviest meal of the day. Usually consisting of meat, beans, rice, and vegetables. There have been so many variations, really, the only constant is that the meat is always some form of pig; usually in a sausage or sliced lunch meat style. Then we ALWAYS have oranges for dessert, after all this is Valencia! :) Dinner is had around 9:30 and is smaller in portion than “La Comida”, but is generally of the same idea. We often have a vegetable/meat plate or when it is fried food we have empanadillas filled with tomato or fried fish sticks. Soup is also very popular for cold days. Then our dessert is followed by... oranges! I guess I don’t have to worry about taking Vitamin C here; I’ve got that more than covered. Another common food to have before meat with “La Comida” or “Cena” is a salad; always with oil and vinegar for dressing. I really enjoy and appreciate how they eat so much healthier here. From what I can see they exercise much more as well. I constantly see people walking or biking all over the city, especially in “El Río”, which is actually not a river at all, but a park. Apparently the river that ran through the city flooded Valencia so much that it was diverted in another direction. What was left as a river bank was then turned into a city-long park known as “El Río” which is also right across the street from my apartment.

Every other Sunday my host mother's son, wife, and three grandchildren come over. I am so lucky to be able to experience this "Sunday after church" meal traditional to many families around the world. Not to mention the food is always better and more exciting. One Sunday we even had shrimp! Completely unshelled right on the plate; head, eyes, antennae and all. I had a wonderful time with her family and I really felt like I was included. Now I'm excited for the next Sunday when we will do it again!

January 29, 2009

As far as adjusting, my toughest situation has been “looking” like I belong. Apart from the fact that I am blond haired and have hazel eyes, I also dress like an American. I did the best I could do, but I guess my sneakers are the first thing that gave me away. At one point I even passed two kids that looked about high school age; the one looked at the other and said “You know how you can always tell an American? Their pants and shoes”.I was wearing jeans! I knew about the shoes, but my jeans...I guess they are into the skinny legged jeans and I wear flares. My Columbia Ski jacket, I guess sticks out as well, so I have gone shopping a couple of times to fix that. Now a lot less people stare at me randomly throughout the day. Obviously, I am different, but at least I don’t stick out like a sore thumb now. As a group, we all get honked at walking down the street or yelled to by guys on mopeds but then again I think they do that with everyone. One of my professors even joked with us about what a former student previously had written in an essay for his classes. She had referred to these “Cat calls” as “gatollamas”, which clearly has no meaning in the Spanish language, but its fun to think about all of the same.

January 31, 2009

For a Friday excursion I was lucky enough to go to Valencia’s Cathedral. Oh my God was it beautiful. We went in a group with my one professor for "Jews in Spain”, she is great, easy for me to understand and has a wonderful sense of humor. I learned so much. For instance the Cathedral is of the gothic period, however, it is so early as to not have EXTREMELY high ceilings, only high ones. Which means it is early gothic...along with that there are many gothic tombs above ground, which the bodies are buried below. Alfaro (our professor) told us that, with the figures on the tombs, if there is a lion at their feet they are of royal blood, and if they have a dog at their feet they were a loyal husband. Also if their arms are crossed I believe they died in peace, and if they died with their hand on the sword beside them they died in war (I believe, or I may have gotten them confused). Either way I find that amusing. There were also so many paintings in this one back room of Juan de Juanes. On the wall of one of the chapels was a GOYA!!!!!!!!!! A real painting of Goya, right there, in front of my face...If I wasn't so short I probably could have touched it! I was so excited. I also learned of how there is a Star of David in the window of the cathedral, ironically at that time it was built the Jews and Catholics were fine together and many were hired to help build it. Who knew years later there would be the inquisition! I learned Saint Carmen is the saint of fisherman and of the sea...no wonder she is so popular in Valencia. Also, that Saint Vincent is the Patron Saint of Valencia. Speaking of Saint Vincent the Martyr...his mummified left arm is in the cathedral...almost like in a shrine. If I didn't tell you before about Saint Vincent the Martyr they tried to burn him but his body wouldn't burn so they tied 4 horses to each of his limbs, whipped the horses and let them run, tearing him apart in the middle of the city. I don't remember what he did "wrong" but Valencia has his arm! Also to add to the interesting facts a poet is also randomly buried in the cathedral! The building itself is breath taking, all of the gold laced above the altar, the beautiful painted ceiling, etc. Apparently it truly is one of a kind so it is the job of each new pope to come visit it! Can you believe that, my host mother told me that when this last pope became pope he had a procession over the bridge of Arts and Sciences (Bridge of Calatrava)! Anyway, I really enjoyed my day excursion there. Again, the history and architecture get me every time.

February 02, 2009

An absolutely awesome tradition here is to have siesta, everyone comes home from work and school around 2 o’clock for “La Comida” and then there is a couple of hour break before everyone returns to work or classes and the shops open back up. This time is known as “Siesta”. Many take short naps, others go walk in the park, and then of course there is the option to catch up on work you may have not finished before.

Another tradition with times here is the night life. It starts around 1 AM and then everyone is out until 5 or even 6 in the morning. Whether it is at a bar, discotec, club, or what not everyone is out late. I swear at 2AM I saw more people in the “Plaza de la Virgen” than I did during the middle of the day in the same place! It’s nice to be able to go out with friends, meet new people, practice the language, and enjoy the culture at the same time. Oh, and it’s not just young people that leave and stay out late here....one night my host mom came home at five in the morning! Perhaps that’s the real reason for siestas.

February 09, 2009

I just spent the weekend with “family” in Murcia, Spain. Two years ago I had a home stay for two weeks with a wonderful family that I keep in touch with often. They invited me back next time I was in Spain and took them up on the offer. It was so nice to travel, to get out of Valenciafor a bit; not that I don’t like Valencia, it was just nice to have a change of scenery. Speaking of scenery I got to take in scenery in many different forms. It was a four hour bus ride, but completely worth it. I forgot how much I loved the land here; it’s so different. The soil is reddish and reminds me more of how it must be in the Southern US States (

New Mexico, Arizona, etc). I also find it funny with their mountains....ours are covered in trees and you can almost never see the land underneath, here the mountains look like tall blobs of soil with sparse trees....but I like it. Then there are other mountains just of the soil and stone and nothing else. Almost no one lives on the mountains and everyone is crammed into the valleys and the land in between is terraced for farming; oranges and the lemons especially. Then on Saturday we headed out to Mar Menor and the protected park of Las Salinasde San Pedro de Pinatar where I had a completely different view. At the Salinas they take some of the water from Mar Menor and evaporate it in order to get their sea salt. It was interesting, and on the other side was the Mediterranean, and since people can’t build anything the beach is still all nice and covered with dead seaweed and sponges. Not to mention seeing how blue the Mediterranean Seawas, as hard as I try I can not replicate that in a photo. Sunday for my last day we went up to their home in the mountains. I figured it was like their “home” in Murcia a one or two floor apartment. I was surprised, however, and it was a full blown house; two floors, two bedrooms, three bathrooms, a kitchen, eating room, living room, and patio. Apparently it was passed on through the family and they use it as a summer home. It over looks the city and provided an absolutely wonderful third view of Murcia. To be in a forest-like area in the city is truly something else. I am very lucky to “be a part” of this family and experience the wonderful family life and warmth so far from home. Not to mention speaking in Spanish non-stop all weekend doesn’t hurt ;).

April 20, 2010

From England to Italy, everyone in Europe is being affected by the toxic cloud of ash from the volcanic eruption in Iceland. My fellow travelers and I are currently marooned in Greece until Thursday when we will finally be able to return to the wonderful city of Valencia. While the unexpected extension of our break is nice, the extra 4 days in Greece are actually more of an inconvenience. This is our last week of classes before our final exams and our return to the U.S. Millions of people are unable to reach their destinations at their originally scheduled times. Fortunately for us, and unfortunately for the millions of other travelers, we have an amazing program director, Amy, who was able to help us rebook our flights the day that we found out that they were canceled. We will be back in the comfort of our host families or residency on Thursday in order to enjoy what will be our final weekend in Valencia. It has been an amazing semester and it is sad to see it end. I hope to come back to Valencia at some point. Maybe for some awesome Fallas action. :)